Choking: what to do if your pet is choking

What should you do right now if your pet is choking?

Call an emergency veterinary hospital and transport your pet immediately while performing first aid to stabilize your animal on the way.

First aid for a choking pet stabilizes your animal during transport to an emergency clinic.

Call the emergency clinic while on the road so the veterinary team prepares equipment before you arrive.

A veterinarian must evaluate your pet even after you remove the obstruction at home to examine internal throat lacerations, soft tissue trauma, remaining fragments, and secondary fluid buildup in the lungs.

1. Call an emergency veterinary clinic immediately so the team prepares equipment.
2. Transport your pet to the clinic right away.
3. Perform first aid maneuvers to stabilize your pet during transport.

What are the signs that your pet is choking?

A choking pet exhibits sudden breathing difficulty, gasping for air, frantic mouth pawing, loud breathing noises, or pale and discolored gums.

Sudden difficulty breathing, gasping for air, frenzied pawing at the mouth, and loud breathing sounds signal an airway obstruction.

Blue, grey, or pale white discoloration of the gums, lips, and tongue signals acute oxygen deprivation.

A coughing pet retains the ability to inhale air. A severely choking pet cannot move air into the lungs.

Choking cats display silent gagging with an open mouth, heavy salivation, and an outstretched neck.

How do you safely check your pet's mouth for blockages?

Inspect the throat only after restraining your pet safely, and extract visible items with tools to avoid bite injuries.

Panicked animals with low oxygen levels have a high risk of biting handlers.

Keep bare fingers out of the mouth of a conscious choking pet to prevent bite wounds.

Use pliers or tweezers to grip and remove a visible object lodged in a conscious animal's mouth.

Open the jaws and gently draw the tongue forward to inspect the throat.

Blind finger sweeps push foreign objects deeper into the larynx and trachea. Sweep outward with an index finger only when an object is clearly visible.

1. Restrain your pet safely to prevent bite wounds.
2. Open the jaws and draw the tongue forward gently.
3. Inspect the throat for a visible obstruction.
4. Use pliers, tweezers, or an index finger to sweep outward on a clearly visible object.

How do you do the Heimlich maneuver on a choking dog?

Deliver five rapid upward and inward abdominal thrusts toward the ribcage while your dog stands or lies on its side.

For a standing dog, wrap your arms under the ribs from behind, put a fist in the soft abdominal hollow, and push upward and inward toward the ribcage five times.

For a large dog lying on its side, place one hand on the spine and squeeze the abdomen upward and inward with the other hand.

Deliver five sharp blows between the shoulder blades if abdominal thrusts fail to clear the object.

Lift a large dog's hind legs off the ground like a wheelbarrow to let gravity move the obstruction.

You can also press both hands firmly on the ribcage, or strike the side of the chest three to four times with a flat palm.

1. Stand behind your dog and wrap your arms under the ribs.
2. Place your fist in the soft hollow of the abdomen.
3. Deliver 5 rapid upward and inward thrusts toward the ribcage.
4. Administer 5 sharp blows between the shoulder blades if the obstruction stays stuck.
5. Lift the hind legs off the ground like a wheelbarrow to help gravity clear the airway.

How do you do the Heimlich maneuver on a choking cat?

Hold your cat upright against your chest and deliver three to five quick upward thrusts toward the head.

Hold your cat upright with its spine resting against your chest.

Administer three to five quick upward thrusts toward the head using a fist for large cats or fingertips for small cats.

Suspend your cat by the hips with its head pointing downward and deliver back blows if abdominal thrusts fail to clear the blockage.

You can also lay your cat on its side and strike the ribcage firmly three to four times with a flat palm.

1. Hold your cat upright with its spine resting against your chest.
2. Place a fist for a large cat or fingertips for a small cat on the abdomen.
3. Deliver 3 to 5 quick thrusts upward toward the head.
4. Suspend your cat by the hips with its head downward and deliver back blows if the airway remains blocked.

What should you do if a choking pet becomes unconscious?

Clear any visible object from the mouth, give rescue breaths into the nostrils with closed jaws, and start chest compressions if the heart stops.

Inspect the mouth and remove any dislodged object that is clearly visible.

Deliver rescue breaths by holding the jaws closed and breathing directly into the nostrils if your pet stops breathing.

Deliver chest compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute if you detect no heartbeat.

Continue resuscitation efforts while traveling directly to the veterinary clinic.

1. Remove any clearly visible foreign object from the mouth.
2. Hold the jaws closed and breathe directly into the nostrils.
3. Check for a heartbeat.
4. Deliver chest compressions at 100 to 120 compressions per minute if the heart stops.

How do you prevent your pet from choking on toys and household objects?

Provide large toys with air holes, discard small chew pieces, and store dangerous household items away from pets.

Dogs commonly choke on small balls, chew toys, smooth stones, and rawhide chews.

Select chew toys and balls large enough to prevent swallowing, with central ventilation holes.

Discard rawhides and chew sticks once chewing reduces them to a size your dog can swallow whole.

Cats commonly choke on yarn, sewing thread, string, holiday ribbons, rubber bands, and detachable toy bells.

Give food and toys directly to your pet, avoid throwing items into the air to catch, and keep small objects off the floor.

1. Buy balls and toys large enough to prevent swallowing.
2. Select toys manufactured with central ventilation holes.
3. Discard chew sticks and rawhides when they reach swallowable sizes.
4. Store yarn, thread, ribbons, and rubber bands away from cats.
5. Keep stones and small items off the floor.

This is general guidance. Always ask your vet.

Checked against sources; veterinary review pending. Information checked on September 28, 2026. Updated on September 28, 2026.

Written with AI help from the cited sources. A second model checked every fact against them.

Sources

• S3 First Aid For Your Dog - RSPCA - rspca.org.uk
• S4 First aid for choking - PDSA
• S5 How to Perform the Heimlich Maneuver for Dogs if Your Dog Is Choking | PetMD
• S6 Heimlich Maneuver in Cats: How to Perform Heimlich Maneuver If a Cat Is Choking | PetMD
• S7 What to Do in a Dog or Cat Emergency - Special Pet Topics - Merck Veterinary Manual
• S8 Emergency Care for Your Pet | ASPCA